Charles Lane (1809-1899)
}} Charles was transported as a convict aboard the "Claudine" in 1829 after having received a life sentence. When he received permission to marry on 19 May 1842 he was recorded as having a Ticket of Leave, which he had received a month earlier. In June 1846 was given a conditional pardon, which made him a free-man except that he could not return to the United Kingdom. Charles the Highwayman Charles was born in a Somerset village with the picturesque name of Temple Cloud. It lies within Cameley parish about 10 miles south of the port of Bristol. He was christened at Cameley on 22nd April, 1810; his parents were James Lane, a laborer and his wife Ann. Other children of the family included William (1807), Ann (1812 ) Eliza (1814) and Mark (1816). Despite the low status of his father Charles learned to read and write as a boy. As a teenager or perhaps earlier he began work as a miner in the coal mines at nearby Clutton. On 16 January 1829 he waylaid a traveler named Joseph Tipper on the King's Highway near Cameley. and robbed him of a silver watch valued at £2. He sold the watch but within a few days he was arrested when the timepiece was traced. He was tried for Highway robbery at the Somerset Lent Assizes held at Taunton Castle on Wednesday 1 April 1829 for what was his first offence. The jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to death by hanging. Shortly afterwards this sentence was commuted to transportation "for the period of his natural life". The man who bought the watch was found not guilty of knowingly receiving stolen property. No transcript of evidence given at the trial survives. On 10 May 1829 Charles was sent from Gaol to the "Captivity" Hulk at Devonport on England's south-west coast. Also on board were 13 other Somerset men who had received life sentences at the Lent Assizes. In August they and Charles were embarked on the "Claudine" convict transport bound for New South Wales. The "Claudine" sailed on 24 August 1829 from Plymouth with 180 male convicts. The men suffered in their prison from heat and thirst while in the tropics. In higher latitudes they suffered from cold and dampness. Nevertheless their overall health remained good. On alternate days they were served with a gill of wine or lime juice and sugar. As a result scurvy hardly made an appearance and only 2 convicts died on the voyage. Charles never appeared on Dr. Trotman's sick list. The "Claudine" reached Sydney on 6 December 1829 after a fast voyage of 3½ months. Now aged 19 Charles was a stoutly built lad about 5'6½" in height with a fair, freckly complexion, hazel eyes and light brown hair. He was round faced with several small scars on his forehead, probably incurred in the mines. On disembarkation Charles was assigned to the Sydney Water Works, probably because his mining experience rendered him useful in excavation work. Later he was sent to work on the road under construction from Wiseman's Ferry to the Hunter Valley. He was attached to the Iron Gang based at Lower Portland Head under the supervision of Percy Simpson J.P. It is not clear whether Charles was sent there in his capacity as a stonecutter or whether he had been sent to work in irons as a punishment for some offence. Whatever the case he was recommended by Simpson to the Colonial Secretary on 29 February 1832 for appointment to the post of "Constable and Flagellator" at the Lower Portland Head Station. The appointment was confirmed and Charles was entitled to a small salary. In 1832 the barbarous practice of flogging was a common form of penal discipline. Convicts might receive 50 lashes for such offences as drunkenness, disobedience, and neglect of work or disorderly conduct. The flagellator or scourger was inevitably a detested figure among the convicts. Many scourges were cruel and degenerate characters others felt unhappiness and aversion at their work. In which direction Charles Lane leaned it is not possible to say. One convict described the whips used with chilling realism: :"The cats the convicts were flogged with were each six feet long, made out of the log-line of a ship of 500 tons burden; nine over-end knots were in each tail, and nine tails whipped at each end with a wax-end. With this we had a half-minute lashes; a quick lashing would have meant certain death...that first flogging made me ripe. I said to myself, 'I can take it like a bullock'. I could have taken the flogger's life at the same time, if felt such revenge. Flogging always gives me that feeling..." Charles left this position as "Constable and Flagellator" and was transferred to Newcastle where he was appointed water carrier to the gaol on 13 August 1834. He remained an employee of the gaol for 3 years working also as a stonecutter. During this time he did not appear before the Newcastle Bench on any charge. By 1837 he had served 8 years as a convict and might have been eligible for a ticket of leave to work on his own account; but his chances were dashed when on 19 December 1837 when he appeared before the bench. He was charged with trespassing in Rev. C.P.N. Wilton's yard and talking to his female convict who had been ordered to look after the Minister's children during divine service. Maria Harrison, a neighbour of Mr. Wilton's gave evidence that:- :"On Sunday last I saw the prisoner in Mr. Wilton's back paddock near the gate, they were talking together, it was within the enclosure of the paddock near Mr. Wilton's back door where I saw them. I saw the male prisoner get over the fence on leaving the female prisoner, it was in the afternoon during divine service, I was outside my own fence that I saw them, I could not be mistaken as to their persons, the male prisoner had on a Blue jacket and it was white in the back." As a punishment Charles was sentenced to 3 months on the treadmill in the Sydney House of Correction. The severity of this sentence for what was little more than a casual chat highlights the harshness and degradation under which the convicts lived. Almost exactly two years later, in December 1839, Charles petitioned for a ticket of leave. This petition was refused but he tried again, this time successfully, in 1842. His ticket of leave was issued on 19 April 1842. He was now permitted to work for pay on his own account subject to the usual restrictions: he could not leave the district without permission, he was required to attend regular musters and any misconduct could result in the cancellation of the ticket. Two weeks later on 2nd May 1842 he was appointed a constable at Newcastle. This suggests strongly that he had agreed to join the constabulary in return for a ticket of leave; it was then government policy to encourage this. Soon after gaining his ticket of leave Charles applied to marry Ann Lord, who was already pregnant. Approval was granted on 19 May 1842and the couple was married by banns on 8 June 1842 at Christ Church, Newcastle. Charles might well have glared sullenly at the officiating minister, the Reverend Charles Pleydon Neale Wilton, who had sent him to the treadmill 4 ½ years earlier. Charles signed the register in a neat, confident hand. Ann made an "x" and, like her mother before her, was unable to tell that her surname had been mis-spelt. 17 days later on 25 June 1842 she gave birth to a baby girl christened Mary Ann Lane a month later. On 1 October 1842 Charles resigned from the Police Force but rejoined 6 months later on 25 March 1843. A glimpse of his activities appears in a report the "Sydney Herald" of 6 June 1844. Charles was one of a police party which searched an island of the Hunter River for an illicit still which was found and destroyed making a brilliant bonfire. By 1846 Charles was in a position to obtain the recommendations of 3 respectable persons that he be granted a pardon. He petitioned Governor Fitzroy and was granted a Second Class Conditional Pardon in June 1846. This restored him to full citizenship rights but forbade, on pain of death, that he never return to the United Kingdom. He was aged 36 and had been a convict for 17 years. Charles was able to overcome any prejudice which he might have experienced in the employment field on account of his past. On 30th August 1853 he was appointed Bailiff to the Newcastle Court of Petty Sessions. This position was a part time one; he received no salary but relied on various court fees for reimbursement. He remained in the police force and was promoted to the rank of District Constable at Newcastle in the mid 1850's. The additional income generated by these appointments was sorely needed as the Lane family continued to grow. After Mary Ann's Anglican baptism, her mother began to assert her religious influence as most of her 11 subsequent children were baptized in the Methodist Church. She produced them with a clock-like regularity: Charles (Dec 1843) James (Apr 1845) William Henry (May 1847), Elizabeth (c1849) John Edward (July 1850), Albert (Jan 1852), Edward (May 1854) Emily (July 1856), Alfred (c1858), Joseph (March 1860), Sarah (Apr 1862). Tragedy struck the family with the death of two year old Albert on the 26 April 1854, and again with the accidental drowning of three year old Alfred in a water hole on 9 October 1861. This sad event signaled a reversal in the Lane family's fortunes. In 1862 the Police Regulation Act was passed by the New South Wales Legislature. In the ensuing reorganization of the force Charles was discharged at the rank of Senior Constable in August 1862. It was probably considered to be inappropriate for a former convict to be employed in the new police force. Nevertheless, after 19 years continuous service he was granted a pension of £60 p.a. This sum, although inadequate for the full support of the family, was a useful acquisition at a time when social services were at a minimum. In order to supplement the pension Charles moved with his family to Hexham west of Newcastle and purchased a small skiff, hiring himself out as a boatman. He probably rowed travelers across the Hunter at the site of the present Hexham Bridge. Although aged 53 he was evidently strong and vigorous enough to perform this work. In December 1862 his eldest daughter, Mary Ann, aged 20 married George Mayo, a young man from a prosperous East Maitland family. She caused her father severe strain by contracting debts on his account without his knowledge. In April 1863 Charles suffered a severe injury to his hands which prevented him from operating the skiff for some months. His debts mounted and several judgments were entered against him in the Newcastle District Court. This was doubtless embarrassing as he had remained bailiff of the Court of Petty Sessions. On 1st August 1863 he lodged and Insolvency (bankruptcy) Petition to relieve the pressure from his creditors. The petition had been drawn up in the office of Joseph Chambers a Maitland solicitor with a schedule of assets including: Wateman's skiff value £10, household furniture £4, wearing apparel £3". The paltry value of these assets indicates that the family had been reduced to a fairly object state of poverty. One set of drawers value £2 which had been given to his wife were not included in the schedule. Charles made a statement outlining his position, a copy of which was found in his insolvency file:- :"I am a pensioner from the Police after 19 years service the rate is 3.4d a day or about £60 a year. I have seven children to support besides my wife and myself. One of my sons not included in the schedule is an apprentice and pays me 10s a week for his board and lodging. I am a bailiff of the Small Debts Court. My only dependence now is on the pension and the fees from the Court of Requests there is no fixed salary for bailiff of the Court. I am deprived of the full use of both my hands for the last four months. When my daughter got married about nine months ago to George Mayo I gave her a bed, bedstead and table – and I exchanged a looking glass with her I also gave her a cedar box..." Only one of the 4 creditors, James Downey pursued his debt which was for £58. When the boat and part of the furniture was sold he received £13 5s 2d after attempting unsuccessfully to ensure a garnishee order on the pension. Recovering from this setback Charles remained at Newcastle where he continued to eke out a living. As the years passed his sons went out to work easing the family's financial difficulties. By the 1880's Charles and Ann were living at Mitchell Street, Tighes Hill with at least two of their sons and their families. Several funeral notices of this time convey the impression of Charles as a patriarch of a large clan of Lane's. For instance, when 17 year old James Lane died in 1886 the notice mentioned that "Charles Lane was his grandfather..." According to her gravestone Charles' wife Ann died at Tighes Hill on 3 October 1888 aged 67. The cause of her death was diagnosed as a "fatty heart". She was interred in her native soil in the Methodist Section of Sandgate Cemetery, Newcastle. Her death was marked by a funeral notice in the local newspaper and a headstone later erected by the family. Her unobtrusive life had spanned two-thirds of the first century of white settlement in Australia. During the 1890's the aging Charles Lane lived with his widowed daughter Mary Ann Mayo. The bitterness he apparently felt at her extravagance before her marriage had passed. Although George Mayo had been feckless and deserted his family he had also imparted a firm middle class outlook on his children, facilitated by the Mayo's family money. This effect is highlighted by the observation that through the 1890's they performed in school and amateur performances of popular Gilbert and Sullivan operetta's such as "The Mikado" and "Lolanthe" at Newcastle. The contrast between the Mayo children and their grandfather Lane was great. Perhaps he wondered if the dark and terrible secrets of his past had really been a dream or a nightmare. According to his gravestone Charles Lane died on 3 December 1899 aged 89 years, at his daughter's house in Bishopgate Street, Wickham (Newcastle), just 4 days short of the 70th anniversary of his arrival in the colony which was shortly to become part of the federated Australia. He had seen vast changes in Australian society as it grew from the convict colony he had known to a prosperous nation. It can only be hoped that he had grown and improved with that society and that, as "the period of his natural life" drew to a close, he had found a measure of happiness in a land of exile. (Taken from a Thesis by Michael Flynn – 1982, Convicts and Constables The Lord, Lane and Mayo families in New South Wales 1814-1915)